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February 24, 2008

Eye patch tutorial (for occlusion therapy),

My daughter is the unfortunate owner of very poor eyesight (her prescription is a +5 on the right and a +6 on the left) and also a squint, both are corrected by wearing glasses, which she has done, with very little complaining, since the age of 18 months old (proud Mummy moment!). In addition to all this, we are exercising her weaker eye (the left one), with 2 hours of patching a day. The sticky patches the hospital gave us were, to be honest, useless, and kept peeling off, but why use something like that, when Mum can make one of these... a cute, pink eye patch, out of felt.

I decided to post this as a full tutorial, so many craft bloggers have children, I figured there will be others out there who may find this useful.

Print out the templates so that the basic eye patch shape is roughly 7 x 10 cm, and the flower is 5 cm wide.

Cut the patch template, making the 3 slits as indicated. Fold the end over, as below, and sew down both seems (I have done this on the machine, but you could stitch it by hand), trim off the excess felt.

Pin together the 2 edges of the center slit, trapping the folded over arm holder loop in between, and sew.

Trim off any excess felt from this inner seam and turn the patch the right way round. Try it on the glasses for size, and also trim the outside edges if needed (probably a good idea at this stage to get the person who will be wearing the patch to try it on to check the fit)

Pin the lense sleeve into position,

and sew on with random straight stitches along both the top and the bottom edges, leaving both side open for the glasses frame to slip through.

Repeat the basic patch shape in black felt, remember to sew it the reverse way round this time, as the 2 need to fit together with all seams on the inside. Place the black inner patch, and the outer patch together and trim any excess off the black so they both match and blanket stitch both pieces together, all the way round the edge.

Attach the flower decoration using the button by sewing onto the lense sleeve, be careful not to sew it on through the whole patch, and just to the sleeve, other wise it will block the gap the glasses frame is to slip through . Place the patch on the glasses, and using some sharp scissors, poke a small hole through the whole patch, for the nose pad to slot through.

The patch can be used on either the left or the right side of the glasses simply by turning it upside down, Lucy's goes on the right, covering up her good eye, so she is forced to use her left one. This is the girly version, you could easily make a boy's version by using red and blue felt, and decorate it with a star sheriff's badge, or a bug shape.

No doubt, in the future, I will be making more of these as Luke also has a slight squint, and it's best to catch these things early, that's when patching has the most effect.

113 comments:

What a fabulous idea! And what a lucky little girl to have a mummy who can make something inconvenient so beautiful! You will have all her friends wanting one too! So much nicer than those horrid plaster-type ones!

Oh that is fabulous, I looked after a little girl who had to wear patches and they either fell off or hurt when you peeled the plaster off, maybe the nhs would like to employ you as a felt-patch technician! clever mummy x

This is inspirational, well done you! I had a lazy eye as a child but they found it a bit late so, by the time they tried sticking a patch to my glasses, little me used to turn my specs over cos I was a little bookworm - so everyoe just gave up and I still have a lazy eye now. But your patch is gorgeous, hope your little one loves it!

Hi, just found your blog from following links. I had a squint as a child, and had to wear a patch. Not sure it helped the squint, but it definitely strengthened the weaker eye. Wish I had had a lovley one like this! best wishes, Vanessa nessienoracraftexplorer.blogspot.com

My son was almost legally-blind in one eye, which we discovered when he was 2. So he started wearing glasses and patches too. He had to wear his almost all day and your idea would have worked so much better!!!! The ones I found worked really well until he got sweaty - which little boys are frequently known to do. lol

Hope the patching works as well for you as it did for us: my son is 8 now and his opthamalogist said that his vision has (and is still) improving so much that he will probably not need glasses AT ALL within a year or two. Amazing what they can do these days!

Thanks so much for the great tutorial - made some for my niece who has some severe vision problems. As she will start wearing a contact in one eye in the next week or so, we are looking at attaching the nice looking patch to one of the "pirate" type patches when the contact arrives. If you have done anything like this - or ever modified your pattern to be worn without glasses, please let me know. My niece has very sensitive skin and the adhesive patches are just awful to use on her.

wow, that is such a lovely patch and I fab tutorial. Two of my daughters had to wear patches all day when they were small and hated every moment of it, especially the teasing that went on at school. If only I'd thought about making my own patches.You really need to market these, they would sell like hot cakes and make kids lives all the better.You're a star.

You're going to be famous in Cuba! In a couple weeks I'm going down with our church group, and I had been asked to bring the stick-on patches for four kids in their neighborhood. I hated to bring something that could only be used once and thrown away.

So I took your wonderful directions, translated them into Spanish, added the photos (which are really helpful) and will bring them, together with an assortment of felt and decorations. Folks can make many many of their own.

I also have had glasses from 18 months - my mum noticed my squint well before but noone would believe her! I had patches and all they had were little stickers to put on them - boring! and uncomfortable, my squint is now much better and although i still wear glasses my eye won't wander unless I'm tired and i dont have my glasses on. I often go as a pirate to fancy dress because i dont mind the patch and i dont need to wear my glasses.

I saw this post by way of craftzine blog. I love it! I've been in glasses since 18 months to straighten an eye that strays left. You can't notice it now (i'm 28), but sometimes it drives me crazy that my eyes don't work together. The eye doc suggested that I patch at night for a few hours to strengthen it, but I poo-pooed that idea. Now that I see an easy way to do it, I just might give it a go. Bet you didn't think an adult would wear your patch, eh?

Would it be possible to make this patch with a cotton/poly fabric that would be more breathable? My son is wearing a felt patch with his glasses and the felt stretches out of shape easily at the noseguard, and is very hot. Any ideas would be appreciated? Thanks.

hi anonymous, blogger has given me know way of replying to you other than leaving a comment here and hoping you check back. yes, it is possible to make the eye patch in cotton, i used felt as it doesn't fray and made is easier for any non-sewers with children that require patching, to make. with cotton, you may need to hem it in some way to prevent this, but you may well find that the blanket stitched edge is sufficient. hope that helps.

Thanks for sharing this. My patch turned out great! After my daughter's surgery, the Dr. wanted to patch for 1 month. Having lost the patch we used earlier in her treatment, and only needing one for a month, this was perfect.

Thank you so much. I just made one for my son. He has had a patch on his glasses but honestly he is always peering above or below his glasses. Hopefully this does the trick. I can't express how much I appreciate this tute :)

Thanks for sharing this. My 6 year old daughter has been diagnosed with Amblyopia and has worn the adhesive bandage for 3 days which hurts while peeling off. I'll try to make this one for her, sewing by hand. I could not quite understand which parts do you stick for the piece we have to put on top of the glasses. How does the glass go through it? Do we have to leave the sides open? Thanks.

You're a total genius. I'm from Argentina, and I have a 3-years old daughter and until now I had made a patch in crochet, but in summer is difficult to use it because the heat.Thank you very much for your idea!

I just found your blog today and I'm SO grateful for your tutorial! My 3yo son just had squint surgery in April, and still has to patch his good eye off and on to prevent lazy eye appearing again. We've been using the adhesive kind. This is such a great alternative. I'll try this tonight when he's asleep, maybe with cloth because we live in hot, hot Malaysia!

I know this post has been here for a while, but I wanted to add a couple thoughts...

For one thing, I had to wear a patch as a child and it sucked - this would have been a nice thing to have.

Also, I have to wear an eyepatch now (again) and I've made one that's plain black - and since it's felt, you can switch out cutouts... so I have a red heart, a blue star, a green christmas tree... etc. It's kind of the ultimate accessory. Thanks so much for posting this - I feel much better not having to wear some ugly patch.

There is a great website called Toddler Four Eyes for parents of babies and toddlers with glasses at http://toddlerglasses.wordpress.com/. My 2 year old patched for over 6 months, we are now in glasses and will start eye drops, but I would love to put a link to your patterns on the site. Please let me know if this would be ok. ThanksAmanda

Thank you! I just stumbled on this! My daughter has been patching on and off for the last few years (also had surgery) she will be so pleased not to use the sticky patches, or the ugly fabric one the hospital gave her!

Thank you for the tutorial! This is just the thing for my little guy who has just started to wear a patch which hurts his skin. I've posted a link on my blog if you're interested :)http://blogs.delphiforums.com/n/blogs/blog.aspx?webtag=joslyn

I love this post! Thanks so much. I made one of these for my son and he loved it so much, I went back and made more!

These are great fun - we have decorated them in a lot of ways... pirate, superman logo, robots, fire engines, etc.

The easiest thing to do is to add an iron-on patch to decorate them (easier for girls than boys - WAY more options). However, we have also cut designs our of felt and glued/sewed them on (Mickey Mouse, etc.)

I have added a link to this tutorial on my blog with a picture of my son wearing one.

THANK YOU! dd just started patching and hates the stick-ons with a passion. I can definitely be classed as a non-sewer and I managed to follow the instructions. Mine aren't perfect but dd is VERY happy! mrsbd

Thank you so much for this post. My dd started wearing glasses at 11 months. She had surgery for the muscle imbalance, but still had to wear glasses for the focus problems. They are hoping that she will be out of the glasses eventually. In the meantime, we have to patch for 4 hours a day. She never minded wearing the patch when we were only patching for 30 minutes a day, but now that we are doing 4 hours...well that is a different story! I made this for her with sparkley pink green and purple felts and she LOVES it! She says that it is "Beautiful" (she is 3). Thanks SO much for posting this - wearing a patch will NOT be an issue in our house thanks to your generosity!

My seven year old was diagnosed with anisometropic amblyopia. The adhesive patches have really done a number on her delicate eye area. Your pattern was perfect! So easy to make and cute to boot! Thank you for providing this!

Thank you so much for posting this...My son has Ambliopia and needs a patch...we have been using the stick on ones, and they are pricey...I just found out that I could buy one for between $7-10...and then found this tutorial...I have all the materials for this, so I will give it a whirl...thanks for saving me a few bucks...I am SO glad I searched this!C~

Thank you for this tutorial. I have a condition that causes severe eye pain and only resting the eye provides releif. I have been using normal eye patches, but as I also need glasses, this is ideal for me. It is so much more comfortable!

Thank you so much for this tutorial and pattern! My son has to wear a patch over his right eye to improve the vision in his left eye. He has to wear it for four hours every day for the next three months. I purchased the stick-on patches but if he sweats at all, it starts coming off and he says it itches. I also purchased the pirate style, but it was for adults and was way too big for his small face and the strap would slip. A friend of mine googled eye patch patterns, found yours and printed it out for me. I went home and made one that night. It is so great! His is made with Mossy Oak fleece and hunter's orange fleece! It's so nice to be able to put it on his glasses and let him go and then when his time is up I can just take it off his glasses and give them back and he is on the run again. It also helps to let him wear his glasses the same as when the patch is not on. This does not irritate him at all, no straps around his head or adhesive on his face. Thanks so much!!! You're such a life saver!!

thanks for this post. I just read about a new product calledClaritin Eye. This is not liquid loratadine for the eye. It is a solution of ketotifen 0.025%, which is exactly the same asZatidor. They are available over-the-counter. Drops can be put in the eye about every 12 hours. To answer a common question: no, samples are not available in doctor's offices, at least not mine.

thanks for this post. companies have extended their brands into new eye-drops products, but despite carrying the Zyrtec and Claritin names neither eye-drops brand contains any of the drugs that consumers know as Zyrtec or Claritin.

Like everyone else I am so appreciative of this tutorial. I just made one for my daughter today. I will upload a pic soon to your Flickr pool but here is a link to my blog where I have pics - http://chocolatechiphip.blogspot.com. I did make one modification. I only used a single layer of felt because I selected a dark green color that she can't see through. I plan to make more out of lighter natural materials. Thanks again.

Just shopping for adhesive patches for my (older) boy, and stumbled across this. It's nothing I need as he is doing well with adhesive patches, but I was so impressed by your design I had to leave a comment. I am certain it has helped many a parent judging by the other feedback, and I could see how it could easily be adapted to boys, and perhaps to older children by adjusting materials and accessories. Nice!

Thank you so much for posting this tutorial! My daughter just turned 2 and got the dreaded "patch" sentence. She hates it and cries when I put it on. I figure I can use up one box of adhesive patches while I try to make my own and a few variations. I'm thankful for people like you who take the time to share your talents with others.

Thanks for this tutorial. My dd is 5.5 months old and was just perscribed glasses and patching. I ordered her some patches, but I like making stuff too. I made her a patch tonight. It didn't turn out quite right becuase her glasses are very small and I eye balled it for cutting it down. But now that I have the basic idea I'm going to have my dh make me my own template.

How clever! My husband found this today. My 5yo daughter has to wear a patch with her glasses, and is struggling to do so (it itches, bothers her eye, etc). This is brilliant! I am so excited to try it this weekend. Thanks!

Thanks for this! My daughter has retinal oedema in one eye at the moment (thanks to congenital toxoplasmosis) and finds reading, watching tv etc very tiring, so I thought I'd make her a patch so she could rest the bad eye.She's 14 though, so it'll have to be a trendy fabric!I live in France now, but am originally from lovely Rutland - just noticed you are too!Great blog, thanks for sharing your ideas!

Thank you so much for this wonderful pattern. I quickly made a trip to the craft store to pick out several colors of felt, and then sewed one up in an evening. We are still deciding on how to decorate it for my 6 year old son, but it is currently working even though it's plain! The "superhero" example on your photo page is inspiring us to be creative. We've been struggling all day with the adhesive type so to have him put it on without a fuss has been a life-saver. Thanks for sharing with us.

THANK YOU!! My almost 7yo son just came back from the eye dr. with an order to patch 24/7. Along with an order form for patches that are $10/ea =/ I looked on etsy and just couldn't find anything he'd like, so I googled and found this and it's perfect! I've already got some ideas for a few, can't wait to try them out!

Came across this site looking to make an eyepatch for my unfortunate rescue teddy bear (Found him in a pile of newly dumped rubbish with his face ripped open and both eyes missing - now washed and re-eyed, he still looks a little odd with the fabric used to repair his face, so I think he'd like a pretty eyepatch :) )And I just wanted to say what a lucky girl your daughter is, to have such a talented and caring mum :)xx

Thanks so much! We just found out today that my daughter needs glasses all day and an eye patch in the afternoon. I ordered some similar to these online, and plan on trying to make some of my own to make things a little more fun for her.

I have to say thanks for this pattern! I am an adult who needed one and made a simple burgundy patch to match my glasses from this pattern which has worked better than anything I could find for purchase anywhere! Thanks again!

THANK YOU so much!! Your pattern looks like it would be the easiest to make. My 10-yr-old daughter has had to patch on & off since she was 4 due to a 'lazy eye'. At the moment she has been resisting the 2 hours of patching each day that the doctor has ordered. I'll probably make it more plain, without decoration, but I have some perfect fabric that will work out great!

I cannot thank you enough for posting this pattern. My son has been using eyepatches based on this tutorial for about a year and you have literally helped saved his sight. I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to post this tutorial.

Thank you for posting this tutorial. My son has just gotten his glasses and we have to patch one of his eyes. He really hates it, of course, so I made a felt one, using your pattern, but adding a race car iron-on figure on a red felt patch. This way, it only takes one layer since the red is dark enough. It makes a difference, so thank you!

Thank you so much for this tutorial. My daughter was so unhappy about patching for 3 hours a day. Now I can't get her to take it off! Her twin sister had to have one and now wears her sunglasses around with a patch on them. You have done a wonderful thing by sharing this pattern. Thanks again.

Hello,I have been making patches for my granddaughter's glasses. She loses them and then I have to start all over again since I haven't used a pattern. I am going to try your pattern to save myself some time. I did't find you before when I started making these. How do I find/print the pattern? When I try to print the picture with the pattern on it,my printer wants to print the entire blog and the pattern is not true to size.Thank you for doing this. I was thinking of doing the same until I discovered yours.

Oh this is awesome...I will have to try one myself if we don't get my prisms soon...my double vision is giving me headaches cause my eye just keeps drifting apart. Your daughter is so lucky to have you making things like this for her.

Thank you - we bought one online for just under £10 and my precious 4 year lost it as was devastated to go back to the sticky ones, I have just ordered my supplies - hopefully they will be here soon. Thank you so much for this - nice and simple!

Thank you for this great tutorial. We had a couple of these patches for my son when he was younger and then we stopped patching for a while. When we moved to Italy we needed to start patching again but I couldn't get hold of a material patch anywhere. This has made me and my son very happy!!

Thank you very much for this, I simply cant believe it isn't common practice to give people this type of pattern by optometrists. I works so well my son loves it and no longer finds it uncomfortable to have a patch on. Anyone can do this its so easy. LIFE SAVER THANK YOU!!

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